11 Jul 2026 07:35:58
Why don't Everton go for a young British striker who has scored goals in a lower league, rather than paying huge money for foreign players like Barry, Kofane etc., who usually end up being no more than average anyway in the PL? I am thinking of soemone like Dome Ballard of Leyton Orient.
11 Jul 2026 09:22:40
Ballard is a good young striker, but he's not the type who jumps straight from League One to the Premier League and thrives. His movement and finishing are legit, but his physical profile isn't ready for Premier League defenders. He would still need another 2 years of development before he'd be ready to step up to that level.
11 Jul 2026 09:37:17
Big Dunc was skinny when he came to us. Didn't take him 2 seasons to get physically ready for English football. The players these days are soft as s****. They should all be ready no matter what league they came from. Problem is, they start off playing on plastic pitches when their kids are not allowed to head the ball until they reach under 12s, and don't play 11 v 11 until under 16s.
By that time all the tougher street kids have got bored and gone and tried rugby instead.
11 Jul 2026 09:42:26
Can you really tell that before you give him a chance? And which of Everton's expensive foreign strikers have thrived immediately? Why risk big bucks on players who have in any case not yet proven themselves to be big goal scorers at the top level?
11 Jul 2026 11:20:00
The point isn't that we shouldn't give young British strikers a chance. The point is that Dom Ballard's specific profile, what he's good at and what he struggles with, matters when you're talking about a jump to Premier League football.
But he's also not physically ready for Premier League centre backs, he isn't a natural hold up striker, he isn't strong aerially, he's still developing his back to goal game, and he can be inconsistent when he's isolated. Those aren't things you fix by "giving him a chance", they're fundamental traits that decide whether a striker can survive the step from League One to the Premier League.
You mention that Everton's expensive foreign strikers haven't all thrived immediately, and that's true, but those players at least arrived with elite physical profiles, proven senior minutes, and attributes that translate to Premier League intensity. Ballard is a good young striker, but he's not the type who jumps two divisions and suddenly becomes a Premier League No.9. He's a development project, not a first team solution.
If Everton were to sign someone like him, it would be with the intention of developing him over a couple of years, not expecting him to fix the striker problem this season.
That's the difference.
11 Jul 2026 11:24:15
Or alternatively, stop spunking money on "Goal Scorers" that are highly unlikely to replicate the number of goals in the toughest league in the world, against the toughest managers, defenders and goal keepers.
They aren't playing against the same level of opposition, they won't get the types of chances that they get in their respective leagues they are coming from.
That is why you see these players hit decent numbers and then come to the PL and fall on their arse.
I would much rather us target a striker who is an overall decent footballer and is comfortable in most/all aspects of the game, that way, if they don't hit decent numbers straight away, in terms of goals, they can offer something else to the team.
11 Jul 2026 12:51:01
Bowen is that type of player BN would take him all day long, mate.
11 Jul 2026 13:45:59
Not wrong there, GB, mate.
I am hoping we can chuck McNeil to them and bring the price down to £25/30 mill and get it over the line.
11 Jul 2026 14:08:30
There are no guarantees that any player from a different league, whether Europe or lower English, can get the goal return we need. Even some high profile strikers from Europe's elite have struggled in this league. So the scouts do their homework and hope it pays off. The last prolific striker we had was Lukaku, who had already shown he could handle the league, even if it wasn't at Chelsea.
We'll all have our picks of players we think can cut it. I actually thought Beto would do well due to his strength and height, but that didn't work out, now did it.
We need a Lineker or a Heath or a Latchford.
So, could the scouts have a check to see if there's anyone that good out there that wouldn't be more expensive than our stadium?